Pea Soup: Great Lakes backstory

You be the judge. Photo take August 31, 2010 Braddock Bay, Lake Ontario southshore
Why we're in gridlock about what's happening to the Great Lakes and who is in charge . . . 

• 2010: Nuclear waste shipments on the Great Lakes ???

• 2010: The asian carp wars begin and while the US has a 'Carp Czar,' behind the scenes, American businessman is working with China to start an asian carp fishery here.

• 2010: oil spill goes into L. Michigan

• 2009: President Obama anoints a 'czar' to over see the "Great Lakes Restoration Initiative" which seeks to fund many, many studies, programs, etc. etc. - hey, NY, where are you on this list?

• 2008: PL 110-342 Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is a legally binding interstate compact [NY, OH, PA, IL, IN, MI, MN, WI] to define management of the use of the Great Lakes Basin water. 

• 2008: the Centers for Disease Control never released a report, "Great Lakes Danger Zone" indicating the long, sick relationship between the water, its pollution and human health.

• 2006: Peter Annin publishes "The Great Lakes Water Wars" which addressed unregulated water withdrawals. Check out "Great Lakes Environmental Law" by Noah Hall.

• 2004: President Bush launches the "Great Lakes Interagency Task Force" which seemingly went, uh . . . . where?

• 1990-1999: we were too busy putting in computers to notice what was going on, but in the long run, computers will probably pull us out of this 'transboundary' mess.

• 1987: Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972 was amended by protocol -- US and Canadian governments sign this Protocol promising to report on progress and calling on the International Joint Commission to review "Remedial Action Plans" in what are described as 43 "Areas of Concern."

• 1978: Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement addendum promised a commitment to work together to rid the Great Lakes of "persistent toxic substances."---Hmmm . . . same year Love Canal comes to light.

• 1972: Canada and the United States signed the first "Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement" to control pollution and to clean up waste waters from industries and communities.

• 1970: President Nixon establishes the Environmental Protection Agency.

• Meanwhile, for decades, we are at the behest of the shipping industry, the mining industry, the chemical and allied industries who were just 'getting rid of waste', the lack of water treatment, runoff from agriculture, lawns, etc. etc.

• 1909: International Joint Commission is established . . . looks promising.

• How far back do you want to go . . . . to the romantic writer Gene Stratton Porter from Indiana . . . to Wisconsin's Aldo Leopold . . . Sigurd Olsen from Minnesota . . . .lots of native history . . . legend and lore.

• Who knows what? Who verifies what? Who separates hype from science? Who reads science correctly? Who cares . . . . the Great Lakes Information Network . . . . . Environment Canada . . . . the EPA . . . . you . . . . me?


• What does the EPA say online.